Prize Guidelines

The Franco British Council Short Story Prize

GUIDELINES FOR APPLICATIONS 09/10

The FBC together with Prospect magazine and Eurostar announces the third year of its short story prize. The prize aims to encourage more students to learn French, and to combat the alarming drop in pupils choosing to study modern languages.We are delighted to announce that the FBC is teaming up with Eurostar to encourage students to use the environmental option to get to France. Eurostar believes that global warming is real and that travelling is a contributing factor in climate change. Travel by Eurostar ensures that you have a much smaller impact on the planet than flying since journeys emit ten times less carbon dioxide.The emphasis in this year’s competition is on the imagination. You do not need to have visited France and the story does not have to be set in France. An encounter with French food, the idolization of a French sports star or an incident in a French lesson could form the basis of your story.

This is not an academic exercise - we are looking for entertaining stories.

Entries
Stories should be no longer than 1500 words, should be written in English and signed off by a professional such as a teacher, tutor, doctor or lawyer as a guarantee that it is the sole work of the entrant. They must be emailed to shortstory@francobritishcouncil.org.uk and a hardcopy posted to the Franco-British Council, 16-18 Strutton Ground, London SW1P 2HP. Please write the name and profession of the guarantor in capitals.

Eligibility
There are two categories of entrants: Those aged between 16 and 18 and those aged between 19 and 25. To be eligible you must be between these ages on 31^st March 2010. Authors must be resident in the United Kingdom. See conditions of entry for further information. These are available on our website.

Essays must arrive by 1^st April 2010

Prizes
Two return Eurostar tickets to France, £100 prize money and your story published in Prospect for the first prize winners of the 16-18 category and of the 19-25 category.
Second prizes of £75 and third prizes of £50 will be awarded in each category.
The best entries will be published by the FBC in an exciting new anthology of short stories.

The stories will be judged by a jury selected by the Franco-British Council.

The names of the winners will be announced by 12th June 2010Further information on the prize and the Franco-British Council and application forms can be obtained from www.francobritishcouncil.org.uk

The Franco-British Council generates new ideas through encounters between French and British individuals from a broad range of fields. Participants in our events have included Thierry Henry (footballer) Ian Rankin (best-selling novelist), Bonnie Greer (Newsnight), and Ronnie Wood (guitarist, Rolling Stones). Senior politicians such as David Miliband, David Cameron and Nick Clegg have also joined us at seminars. Past subjects covered include Violence in Schools, Culture in the 21^st century and Immigration and Integration and the reports are available from our website.